Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 7
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 15, 2021, 11:55 AM CST for 6 counties in Alabama; 14 counties in Florida; 10 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 15, 2021, 11:55 AM CST (17:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 15, 2021, 4:52 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 70 kt
All 30 counties
Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Seminole County, GA
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:53 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 60%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 40%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 70%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 60%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 15, 12:53 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Walton | 67 min |
| Feb 15, 12:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 36 min |
| Feb 15, 1:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Coffee, Geneva | 41 min |
| Feb 15, 1:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Holmes, Jackson, Walton, Washington | 54 min |
| Feb 15, 1:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston | 63 min |
| Feb 15, 2:02 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Walton, Washington | 28 min |
| Feb 15, 2:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Coffee, Geneva | 17 min |
| Feb 15, 2:22 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and 1 more | 53 min |
| Feb 15, 2:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston | 53 min |
| Feb 15, 2:41 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Jackson, Washington | 12 min |
| Feb 15, 3:01 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Henry, Houston | 59 min |
| Feb 15, 3:03 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Houston | 57 min |
| Feb 15, 3:28 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Miller, Seminole | 16 min |
| Feb 15, 3:30 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Baker, Calhoun, Early, Miller | 19 min |
| Feb 15, 3:42 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Baker, Calhoun, Dougherty, Early | 17 min |
| Feb 15, 3:52 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Baker, Calhoun, Decatur, Dougherty, Grady, Lee and 3 more | 38 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 149 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 468 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 252 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 303 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted.
566
WWUS20 KWNS 151751
SEL7
SPC WW 151751
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-160000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 7
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1155 AM CST Mon Feb 15 2021
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
Southeast Alabama
Florida Panhandle
Southwest Georgia
Coastal Waters
* Effective this Monday morning and evening from 1155 AM until
600 PM CST.
* Primary threats include...
A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible
Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 80
mph likely
Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY...Supercells are expected to spread inland within a
quasi-linear band of thunderstorms that should sweep eastward this
afternoon.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles
north and south of a line from 15 miles west of Crestview FL to 30
miles north northeast of Tallahassee FL. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU7).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.
&&
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 70 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 23040.
...GramsSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 15, 3:09 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Marion, Pickens | 6 hr |
| Feb 15, 9:28 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lamar, Lauderdale and 6 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 15, 11:24 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston | 66 min |
| Feb 15, 3:08 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Houston | 2 hr |
| Feb 15, 1:38 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Liberty | 97 min |
| Feb 15, 1:47 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 17 more | 118 min |
| Feb 15, 2:02 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 13 more | 7 hr |
| Feb 15, 5:32 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brevard, Indian River, Osceola, Seminole | 118 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2021Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2021Every tornado watch in 2021
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.